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Current News l News archive 2006 l News archive 2005 l News archive 2004 l

October 2005

EHR extend their headquarters

19 October 2005, 1pm: On the premises of EHR in Essen, the topping-out wreath is brought to the top of the shell of the new two-storey office building. The senior management of EHR, the general contractor Wansing & Partner, the architect and representatives of the construction crews followed the good old tradition to thank the architect and the owner by toasting and to ask for the blessing on the building by breaking a drinking glass on the wall. When they move in as of the middle of December, the departments of “process planning for manufacturing, Essen shop” and “quality management” will be moving closer to manufacturing and provide further increased efficiency.

October 2005

EHR delegates in Poland

“Power meets Kyoto - Energy and Environment in the EU 25” was the motto of this year’s VGB congress in Krakow from 28 to 30 September 2005. High-ranking officials from politics and the utilities joined in discussions with four representatives of EHR and about 900 participants from 25 nations about current issues and strategies of future energy generation and supply at this international power plant congress. The further development of its range of power plants requires an enormous strength from the EU and their 25 member states. The power plants are becoming of old age, on the average. For that reason alone more than 200 gigawatts of power plant performance will need to be replaced within the next 15 to 20 years. The leading representatives of power plant operators and manufacturers discussed about how the demands on the future fleet of power plant could be brought into accordance with environmental protection, safety of energy supply and economic operation. EHR was at the congress with a delegation of four and, in addition, with a presentation stand. The forum was accepted with enthusiasm and was successfully used for intensive personal discussions with the international experts about EHR's engagement and portfolio of services.

September 2005

Twice around the world for Kaeng Khoi

In Thailand, Kaeng Khoi 2 is going to be erected, a power plant with two combined-cycle blocks of about 400 MW each. Alstom Power Switzerland has awarded the contract for the planning, pre-manufacturing and supply of high-pressure steam pipes along with the necessary ancillary to the EHR subsidiary in Stuttgart. The planning of the entire power plant in a three-dimensional model is being carried out interdisciplinary at several locations around the globe: high-pressure pipes in Germany, medium and low-pressure pipes in India, fittings for the high-pressure pipes in the Netherlands, steel construction, concrete and turbines in Switzerland, waste-heat boilers and boiler-internal pipes “down under”. A synchronized planning status of all parties involved is ensured by daily data exchange. A similar challenge is posed by material procurement: 468 t of high-temperature steel pipes and fittings (P91, P22 and P11) have been ordered from countries all over the world, among them the USA and Japan, to be delivered to the EHR plant in Dortmund. A period of four months is the time available for the pre-manufacturing of the spools of block 1 (about 200 t) according to ASME. Packed into containers, everything will be shipped to the site in Thailand. The pipes will be accepted on site by an Authorized Inspector according to the strict American “Boiler External Piping” regulations. The EHR team successfully works for the implementation of a complex and demanding planning, logistics and technical solutions under tight time constraints – in Stuttgart and all around the world.

July 2005

Helicopter Mission for COMTES 700 Spectacular airborne mission at Scholven. EHR silencer hooked

Even a sudden rainstorm could not distract the helicopter pilot from his task. The EHR site management had organised for the “airborne lorry”, which carried the 1,600-kilogram silencer precisely onto the 120-metre high rooftop of Block F at E.ON Power Plant in Gelsenkirchen-Scholven. The EHR technicians of the Sunday shift released this important component off the helicopter, which was an extremely difficult task to accomplish as the components has a diameter of 2.2 m and a height of 2.6 m. The assembly of the 700 °C-component testing plant COMTES 700 was completed by the end of June 2005.

June 2005

Research & Development Assembly order for 700 °C-component testing plant COMTES 700

At Block F of Scholven Power Plant, the basis for the erection of highly efficient large power plants shall be laid with the long-term operation of the yet-to-be-installed testing plant COMTES 700, which has a live steam temperature of about 700 °C. This will help increase the net efficiency rate to 50 %, and go along with a significant reduction of both the fuel consumption and the emission levels. A consortium under the leadership of EHR was contracted by E.ON Kraftwerke GmbH for the assembly of two high-pressure steam superheaters, 2,500 metres of high-pressure piping, 200 fittings and controls and the reinforcement of the steel construction. The work was carried out during an eight-week maintenance period in May and June 2005 For the piping, fittings and controls, the nickel-based materials Alloy617, austenitic and martensitic high-temperature materials such as P91 and P92 were deployed. Besides the requirements of the assembly logistics, high demands were made on the material and welding technology.

May 2005

High-pressure piping for the world's largest nuclear power plant

It is going to be the first new nuclear power plant in Europe for more than 20 years, and EHR is going to be a part of it. In western Finland, at Olkiluoto, the Framatome ANP and Siemens Power Generation (PG) consortium is going to erect the Olkiluoto 3 nuclear power plant with its innovative European Pressurized Water Reactor (EPR). The EPR for Finland is planned to have about 1,600 Megawatts and is thus going to become the world's most powerful power plant. Commercial operation shall commence in 2009. The high-pressure piping system of LOT 1 in the Turbine Island, advertised by Siemens PG , was awarded to the EHR/BBS consortium at the beginning of March. The contract comprises the live steam and feed water piping with a total tonnage of 1,450 tonnes and includes detailed engineering, supply, pre-manufacturing and installation. The installation work is already going to commence in July 2006 and shall be completed in December 2007.

April 2005

Getting around the bend

A new induction-bending plant has been put into operation at the EHR shop in Dortmund. The company has just invested EUR 350,000 in the computer-based control and measuring system as well as in the new electrical installation. Why? Because also tubes and pipes need to “get around the bend.” Pipe bends (also known as " elbows") used to be welded in. Nowadays, pipes with a diameter of up to 358 mm and a wall thickness of up to 70 mm are being bent. This increases the quality, plant safety and the technological leadership of EHR. Twenty years of experience in and development of this type of technology and high-alloyed piping materials with ever narrowing radii have helped establish the EHR shop at Dortmund as an acknowledged specialist.

March 2005

Reduced downtime at the turnaround of the Esso refinery at Ingolstadt

The central task: Exchanging a pipe bundle. 3 x 8 pipes, with a weight of about 12 tonnes and a length of about 18 metres. Five months from the commencement of plant designer Jacobs Project GmbH until the end of the 18-day downtime period were sufficient for the engineering and pre-manufacturing because the work could be carried out at the EHR shop Essen and in Mülheim. The procurement of a large quantity of cast mounting brackets for the furnace piping made from the special material HP45 Mod was organised from there. On site: Snow and temperatures of down to 25 °C below freezing during removal and installation of the pipe bundles. Two mobile cranes were used in the tandem lifting process. Under the extremely cramped condition inside the furnace, a “well-oiled” and experienced team made sure that the matter ended as a success. As always, safety and entirely professional conduct of each individual staff had taken top priority at the course of that complex procedure. The living proof for that is not so much an accident count of zero or the appraisal received in Esso’s job check report but much more the reduced downtime at the turnaround. When plants are down, EHR is the safe and particularly fast answer.

February 2005

EHR Contributors on the 20th Pipeline Technology Meeting

"Pipelines in power and chemical plants Long-distance pipelines - European harmonisation and national regulations" is the topic of the meeting of the German Association of Steam Boiler, Pressure Vessel and Piping Manufacturers (Fachverband Dampfkessel-, Behälter- und Rohrleitungsbau e.V (FDBR)) on 15 and 16 March 2005 in Stuttgart. EHR specialist Dipl.-Ing. Sebastian Wellnitz is going to contribute to the formulation of manuals for selected pipelines with regards to the topic group of "European standardisation and harmonisation" on 15 March at 10 am. As of 4.30 pm, our calculation specialist Dr.-Ing Jochen Weber will be in the centre of attention. He is going to explain the results of the practical applications of the joint FDBR and VGB* research project for the calculation of the creep behaviour in pipeline bends. The concomitant exhibition will provide a look into the services and products of companies in the field of pipelining, their suppliers and software development. EHR is going to have their own stand. You are invited to visit us. * VGB PowerTech e.V.= European technical association for power and heat generation (Europäischer Fachverband für Strom- und Wärmeerzeugung)

Januar 2005

EHR helps tsunami victims

An incomprehensible, a horrible natural disaster has struck millions of people in the area of South Asia and has been threatening them with misery and despair. Aid is desperately needed on the spot. This is why EHR has made an immediate donation at the amount of EUR 5,000.00 and initiated a fund-raising campaign among their staff. The appeal: "Let us help jointly according to the motto: EHR helps." If you would like to make your contribution in order to relief the dire straits, please transfer your donation to Deutsche Welthungerhilfe Sparkasse Bonn Bank Code: 380 500 00 Account No. 2020 Reason for Payment: Erdbeben-Südasien (Tsunami South Asia)